La Belle Ferronnière

A rare and impressive example of an after da Vinci other than the Mona Lisa. Old after da Vincis of any subject are quite rare — in the 18th and earlier 19th centuries, da Vinci was not held in as high a regard as Raphael, Titian, and other Italian Old Masters, while in the 20th century the fame of the Mona Lisa came to eclipse many of his other portraits in the popular imagination.

The identity of the sitter in da Vinci’s original is disputed. One suggestion is that the Ferronnière in question was a mistress of François I of France (at whose court da Vinci spent the last years of his life), the wife or daughter of an ironsmith (ferronnier). More likely is an identification with Beatrice d’Este (1475–1497), wife of Ludovico Sforza and Duchess of Milan, and one of da Vinci’s main patrons (Beatrice was the sister of the equally brilliant Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, and great patron of the arts, including Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, dit l’Antico).

Antonio Bin was a noted copyist and interpreter of da Vinci’s works, and at his prime in the 1960s he painted numerous copies of the Mona Lisa, often on commission, which regularly fetch many thousands in the market. The present painting offers the rare opportunity to own a magnificent after da Vinci while avoiding the predictability of a Mona Lisa.